Mamels life animal

Too often people work when they are sick because of economic necessity and cultural mores. In academia there is this attitude of YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE WORKING. And with the realities of the job market and increasing emphasis on conspicuous production, the default setting should be "productive."  But guess what, when you are sick, usually the most productive thing you can be doing is getting well- at home, with soup. And the second most productive thing you can be doing is not germing up the lab, office, and classroom. I learned this the hard way.  As a post-doc I caught a cold. Convinced that my contribution to the research was so important that it could not afford me taking a few days off to get well, I "pushed through" working half days, feeling crappy and infecting and then being re-infected by my lab-mates. This lasted for weeks until one weekend night I ended up in urgent care with a serious bacterial infection. Lame Lame Lame.  Since then when I start to feel t

HYENA Clan Defeats Orca!!! FINAL BATTLE PLAY BY PLAY !! Mammal March Madness 2014 has officially ended, join us for Mammal March Madness 2015 with Mighty Mini Mammal and Mythical Mammal Divisions!              adapted from art by  Tracy A. Heath,  Matt Martyniuk,  Sarah Werning,   via Phylopic! Links to natural history & other research to explain battle outcomes: -WILD CARD MARCH 10 th  (battle details) -First Round Social Mammals 8PM Eastern March 11th  ( battle details )  Hyena, Musk Oxen, Hamadryas, Mandrill, Ethiopian Wolf, Tibetan Macaque, Wild Dogs, & Army Ants ADVANCE! - First Round Marine Mammals 8PMish (more like 8:30) Eastern March 12th ( battle play by play ) Orca, Sea Lion, Walrus, Humpback Whale, Bowhead Whale, Oceanic White Tip, Dwarf Sperm Whale, and Polar Bear ADVANCE! - First Round The Who in the What Now? Mammals 8PMish Eastern March 13th ( battle play by play ) Dhole, Binturong, Cassowary, Caracal, Saiga, Wallaroo, Fossa, and Babirusa ADVANCE! - First Round

On Thursday en route to Denver to hang out with some super awesome peeps during their Lactation Project Program Retreat, the newest study to be sensationalized in the manufactured, media-fueled mommy wars exploded across my twitter & facebook.  In a FB thread, Melanie Martin was making some great points so I invited her to write a guest post for Mammals Suck. Mammals Suck systematically supports moms, advocating for them to have ALL the options, be respected for whichever options fit their lives, and that ALL the options be better; better breast-feeding support, better formula, and the best breast milk science. This post addresses how the recent study does not necessarily deliver the best breast milk science. (in this case, ewoks might provide added value... for ONCE!) About Melanie, in her own words: "I’m a biological anthropologist who studies variation in breastfeeding, breast milk, complementary feeding, and infant health and development. I’m also a breastfeeding mom.&q